Musiclink cables sound better reversed

I have a Rotel preamp going to a Rotel 1590 amp. I use a decent cd player going into the preamp. I connect the cd player to preamp and preamp to amp with Transparent Musiclinks, RCA all around. I connect cd player to preamp in the direction indicated on the cable. But when I connect the preamp to amp the same “right” direction (the direction of the flow), it sounds horrible. A 2 year old would say so. But, when I eeverse the preamp to amp cable, it sounds great.
1. Why?
2. Am I going to hurt anything?
I would greatly appreciate some guidance from those who clearly know more than I. I was ready to sell my musiclink cables until I tried the reverse direction from pre to amp. Now, I love them. Thanks.